Bay City's efforts to turn around crumbling residential area start to pay off

Scott Mussell | Times PhotoJoshua Davidson climbs the steps to his home at 223 North Grant in Bay City. This past month, Bay Area Housing paid for about $18,000 in renovations to Davidson's home, one of 50 homes in the residential area around Birney Park that the agency has helped rehabilitate in the last five years.

A year ago, Joshua Davidson bought a fixer-upper home on North Grant Street, in a part of Bay City with a notorious reputation.

"Before I moved here, I used to have friends that lived down around here and it used to be pretty bad," he said. "But in the last year, I've had no problems with any of the neighbors."

Local leaders say the residential area around Birney Park has been riddled with crime, drug activity, blight, an overabundance of rental units, and properties owned by absentee landlords who have let homes fall into disrepair.

Davidson says the area is starting to turn around thanks to Bay Area Housing, a nonprofit organization that has targeted efforts to revitalize the neighborhood in partnership with the city.

This past month, Bay Area Housing paid for about $18,000 in renovations to Davidson's home, one of 50 homes in the neighborhood the agency has helped rehabilitate in the last five years. For Davidson, a 27-year-old gas station attendant with a child on the way, that was huge.

"We got all our windows redone, and they did all the wiring in the house, put in new heating ducts, and all kinds of duct work in the basement," he said. "They put in a new basement floor for us - did all kinds of stuff."

Brenda Christian, president and CEO of Bay Area Housing, said her group is committed to improving the neighborhood south of downtown and east of City Hall. The area of focus is bordered by Ninth Street to the north, Columbus Avenue to the south, Washington Avenue to the west, and Farragut Street to the east.

"A lot has taken place in this neighborhood," Christian said.

Over the past five years, about $2.2 million has been pumped into in the neighborhood in the form of new sidewalks, lighting, infrastructure, landscaping and home repairs. Funding has come from a variety of sources, including the city, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Federal Home Loan Bank, homeowner contributions and other grants.

Two weeks ago, Bay Area Housing earned a "2008 Outstanding Planning Award" from the Michigan Association of Planning for its five-year plan focused on turning around the neighborhood. It took the agency a year and a half to develop its Neighborhood Preservation Plan with Flint-based planning consultant Rowe Inc.

Already the group is making headway on its long-term goals, which include increasing home ownership and home beautification. Bay Area Housing, as it continues to plug away on dozens of homes on a waiting list for repairs, is focusing on making homes code compliant, energy efficient, safe and affordable. The city, meanwhile, has about $80,000 budgeted for more sidewalk improvements this coming spring.

Steven G. Black, deputy city manager, said the city is glad to have a nonprofit agency helping to turn around the city's most distressed neighborhood. For every dollar the city has put toward the cause, he said, Bay Area Housing has been able to leverage another.

Christian says the plan is to spark neighborhood investment by getting homeowners and landlords interested in taking pride in their area. She said her group's work already is inspiring some residents to complete home renovations of their own. Residents even have given their neighborhood a new name: Presidential Towne Center, chosen for the many streets named after former presidents that run through it.

"As I drive through the neighborhood now, I can see there are people taking pride in their neighborhood," Christian said. "But there's definitely still a lot of work to do."